NEIGHBORS

November 12, 1992|By JUDY REILLY

Where can you find penny candy and canned goods, peanut clusters and clothes pins, the mail and neighborhood gossip? Try the general store and post office in Uniontown, where, once you've stepped over the threshold, you'll feel transported back in time.

The store is a small, narrow space with ceiling-high shelves, old wooden floors and, tucked into a corner, 108 mailboxes for Uniontown residents. It's been run by the same family for three generations.

Caroline "Toots" Devilbiss has been postmistress in Uniontown since 1955, the year her mother died and Toots inherited the position. She and her brother Bob, who drives a school bus, run the general store. You'll find them there every day from 7 a.m. until closing at 9 p.m.

If they're not greeting you when you walk in, you'll find them sipping coffee or grabbing a snack in the kitchen at the back of the store.

Neighbors stop in to get their mail, read the bulletin board and buy some bread or milk. Teen-agers from Francis Scott Key High School hang out in front of the store after school, and so do the middle school students whose bus stops there.

At age 72, Toots Devilbiss says she's getting tired of the postal duties, but she has a twinkle in her eye when she talks about her favorite occupation -- meeting people.

Uniontown residents agree that meeting her and her brother at the mailboxes each day is a favorite part of their lives, too.

*

Line up as early as 5 a.m. this Saturday for the Lions' Club Pancake Breakfast, which takes place until noon at the building on the carnival grounds. Eat all you want for $4 from a selection of home-cooked breakfast foods, including eggs made to order. Club members arrive before 4 a.m. to start cooking pancakes, sausage, pudding, hominy and beverages. For children ages 6 to 12, the cost is $2; children under 6 eat for free.

A bake table overflowing with goods also will be offered.

The semi-annual event is one of the club's big fund raisers. Thproceeds will go to Lions' Clubs in Florida and Louisiana to aid victims of Hurricane Andrew.

*

You'd better go out jogging or pursue some vigorous activity so you'll have an appetite for the American Legion's Shrimp and Chicken Feed.

Starting at 1 p.m. at the American Legion at 9 East Broad Street in Taneytown, the all-you-can-eat affair features steamed shrimp and fried chicken and "all the goodies that go with it," according to Godfrey Miller, a Legion member who is planning the event. You'll find relish trays, cole slaw, baked beans, beer and soda, plus the chicken and shrimp -- "No junk," says Mr. Miller -- for $15 a person.

About a dozen Legionnaires will start cooking at 5 a.m. Some 200 people come from all over for the feast.

If this sounds too good to miss, get your tickets before they sell out by calling Mr. Miller at 756-6308 or Joe Morningstar at 756-6769.

Proceeds from the event go to the American Legion Fund, which aids numerous community causes.

*

Fans of Honeysuckle Lane crafts in Keymar might enjoy christening the expansion of the shop between Dec. 2 and 6. Come and enjoy the works of regional artists, as well as refreshments and door prizes.

Elisa Bowman, shop owner and artist, will double the size of her space when a converted horse barn becomes a home to baskets, pottery, flower arrangements and other handmade items.

The shop is on Francis Scott Key Highway, about 2 miles south of Taneytown. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Information: 751-1602.

*

St. Paul's Methodist Church in New Windsor will be busy again with an Early Bird Crafts Fair at the church from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. this Saturday.

The fair will feature leaded glass, wreaths, baskets, ceramics, dried flowers and, best of all, the homemade mincemeat cooked by the women of the church. They make and sell the mincement every year, yet still manage to keep the recipe a secret.